Athletes are some of the most dedicated people around. So, when it comes time to practice, there’s little that can keep them from giving it their all. That said, there are some exceptions, like bad weather if practice is outdoors. This was certainly the case for the Russian football team, Znamya Truda, that Ivan Zaborovsky was on in 2020. Little did he know, however, that a nearly fatal lightning strike would happen without a single warning from a drop of rain, wind, or thunder.
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At the time, Ivan was only a 16-year-old. While most of his team was near the touchline, he was getting ready to kick the ball towards the goal. But just as the soccer player (as he’d be referred to in the U.S.) got ready to make the kick, lightning struck him. In an instant, he was on the ground, unconscious. This harrowing moment was caught, at a distance, on camera. While Ivan does survive, do know the video is a bit intense. You can watch it in the video below.
“Everyone acted quickly, very professionally, the ambulance arrived in eight minutes,” Igor Mayorov, the club director for Znamya Truda says. “Most likely he had a respiratory arrest, he received first aid, maybe because of this the child is alive.”
Group Effort Leads to the Miraculous Survival of a Teen Soccer Player Struck by Lightning
At first, Ivan was kept in an induced coma. This was done to give his brain some much-needed rest. Plus, this time would allow his brain to get saturated with oxygen. In the end, everything that needed to happen in order for Ivan to survive did — and it feels nothing short of a miracle.
“Imagine warming up to play soccer and then you blink and you’re in the emergency room,” someone points out in the comment section of the video, with another adding, “Straight to the convenience store to buy a lottery ticket.”
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